


the truth about me, and the truth about you

by m0kke



Category: Persona 4, Persona Series
Genre: Canon-Typical Violence, Gen, Help, New Game Plus, Spoilers (November onward), tags to come
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-31
Updated: 2021-01-05
Packaged: 2021-03-11 02:36:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 15,118
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28377825
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/m0kke/pseuds/m0kke
Summary: Friendship ended with lonely shadow Yu now cocky bastard shadow Yu is my best friend
Comments: 6
Kudos: 17





	1. shadow yu but make him outside of the tv

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by various shadow Yu’s from absolutely wonderful works such as Canon Divergence by aquietdin, both of our hearts in your hand (a pound of flesh) by Pfeffermouse, and many others I’m sure I don’t remember but have surely been influenced by
> 
> Fun fact  
> This was supposed to be a one shot but I’ve been writing this obsessively for 5 days straight so enjoy pls  
> (Or don’t)

Yu was gone. Nanako was gone. The interrogation room was chaos.

A majorly pissed Dojima was pacing what had once been the room where Yu was being held, currently gathering information about Nanako from Naoto, and questioning her about Yu while he was at it. Yosuke decided it best to stay back and shut up, only speaking when spoken to. If only his companions had the same idea…

“Weren’t you supposed to be watching him?” Kanji leaned toward Adachi, who in turn stumbled backwards, “So where the hell is he?”

“I- I told you! I don’t know!! I was standing right outside the door the whole time!”

“That’s bullshit,” Dojima nearly shook the room with the sheer volume of his sudden outburst, “what, did Yu just _disappear?!_ You were slacking off again, weren’t you?”

“Dojima-san, please!” Adachi’s voice shook with what Yosuke perceived to be either terror or utter confusion. Or both. He couldn’t blame him.

“Waaaah, Yosuke!!!” Teddie latched onto Yosuke’s arm, “what’s gonna happen to Sensei and Nana-cha-a-an?!”  
Now he was crying. Awesome.

Half ignoring Teddie’s wails, Yosuke busied himself with dragging Kanji away from poor Adachi as he spoke, “Dojima-san, what can we do?”

Dojima, as he carelessly dropped Yosuke’s phone back onto the table, grimaced, “You can stay here while I go look for _my daughter_.” The ‘daughter’ part of that held a special kind of assertion that told Yosuke he shouldn’t ask any more questions.

“Adachi,” Dojima continued, “you’re staying here to watch these three. _Are we clear?”_

“Well, yes, but Dojima-san, you can’t just go out there as it is! You don’t even have a lead on who took her, or if they even used a car or not!”

These protests fell on deaf ears as Dojima made his hasty leave, already yelling at someone over the phone about a highway checkpoint or whatever. 

Meanwhile, Adachi began pacing across the front of the room, muttering to himself about what to do now that Dojima’s gone out of his mind.

“Adachi-san,” Yosuke spoke up, “let us go look, too. I think…” he looked to Kanji, now docile next to him, and Teddie, who had stopped crying but still clung to his arm, “we think we know where he is.”

Obviously, the trio hadn’t had time to discuss it… but, if Adachi really _had_ been standing guard like he’d said, there’s only one way out of an escape-proof room like this.

Well, there was one for Persona-users, anyways. 

And they _all_ knew it.

“H-hey, you know I can’t let you all go..!”

As if on cue, Chie burst in, yelling, along with the other Investigation Team girls behind her, “What’s going on? Where’s Narukami?!”

“Gah, more of them?!” Adachi jumped back in surprise, sweat already beading on his forehead.

Yosuke was about to explain to Chie when Kanji decided to take the stand instead, “We don’t know, dammit, and this cop here won’t freakin’ let us out to _find him_!”

“Wh-whoa! Listen, you know I can’t let you guys go, I don’t even know what’s going on here! Let’s just…”

Naoto intervened without skipping a beat, “Kanji-kun, if we go out looking now, tell me, where would we start? Would we try to locate Nanako’s kidnapper, who is still unidentified, or would we blindly look for Yu-senpai first?”

Kanji, who was absolutely taken aback, sighed in defeat, falling silent immediately after. Yosuke gave his shoulder a pat in support.

_I want to go right now too. All of us do._

“I think we can all agree,” Naoto shot a meaningful look to her friends, “that Senpai is more than capable of taking care of himself.”

Yosuke knew immediately what she meant. From the looks on the Investigation Team’s faces, he knew they did too.

_If Yu truly was inside the TV, he wasn’t going in blindly. He had a good reason for breaking their one rule like that… and he definitely wouldn’t go down at the hands of anything without a fight. Especially not when his family was involved._

Naoto continued, “We need to sort out who kidnapped Nanako-chan, and assist Dojima-san in any way we can for the time being.”

The Investigation Team nodded in unison, leaving Adachi wildly confused as his gaze shifted from person to person.

“Now then,” Naoto spoke up once more, “concerning Nanako-chan’s kidnapper…”

— — —

“Big Bro…”

Yu didn’t have time to worry about where he fell, or what he was going to do with no armor or physical weapons. He didn’t have time to wonder why he fell right next to the Konishi Liquors store where Yosuke fought his shadow, despite throwing himself into a TV at the police station.

He knew Dojima would be chasing Namatame soon enough, landing himself in the hospital. And he knew that Namatame was hightailing it out of Inaba with Nanako right now.

His memories of the year before this- er- maybe the first time he’d been through this year? However you put it, he didn’t remember much that was different from this year. There were, of course, events he hadn’t been able to change, like the death of Yamano, or even Saki Konishi and King Moron, but this was something he _could_ change. He knew how he could change it. He’d been planning this for weeks, memories of that night at the hospital filtering in and out of his mind as the day of Nanako’s kidnapping grew closer.

Nanako’s hospital room, her muffled voice through the oxygen mask, the droning sound of the flatline that haunted Yu until the day he was supposed to have gone back home...

He wasn’t going to let Nanako die again.

“Big Bro, I’m scared… Dad… Mom…”

Yu, finding his way to the backlot, re-traced the path to Heaven he’d taken many times before. Nanako’s Heaven was such a beautiful place, but, there’s just something about it that doesn’t… feel right.

“Mom… where are you?”

Heaven soon came into Yu’s view, which meant that Nanako was already in the TV. Dojima should be on his way to the hospital by now...

Yu made sure to keep his breathing steady as he booked it through Heaven’s entrance. Namatame would be on the top floor, if he remembered correctly…

He absentmindedly listened to Nanako’s broadcast of woes as he made his way up through Heaven, dodging any shadows and summoning Izanagi for defensive purposes only.

Things were running smoothly. Yu just had to keep up the pace, and then he’d rush in past Namatame and get Nanako out of there. 

_There is no room for error here,_ he thought to himself. 

— — —

The Investigation Team, minus one Yu Narukami and Rise-Teddie duo, took one final inventory check as they prepared themselves at their usual round table atop the Junes food court.

Yosuke, having taken the lead, took stock of their items while the others readied their armor and weapons, not bothering to worry about customers, seeing as the store was currently closed (Teddie and Rise said they’d be better focused if they were in their usual meeting spot, instead of _inside_ the store. 

Ironic that they were the only two who left the group, anyways.)

_I’ve got your back,_ Yosuke silently promised Yu as the group quieted down, _I don’t know why you went in by yourself. I don’t need to know anymore. All I care to know right now is if you’re safe._

Rise and Teddie returned soon after the group disbanded their conversations, the listening members’ expressions curious and thoughtful.

Her voice shaken up a little, Rise sighed and announced, “I can feel Senpai’s presence..! Nanako’s there too, along with someone else… probably Namatame. She and Senpai are both okay… I think.”

Sensing that the Team’s tension had subsided for the most part, Yosuke stood up and called out as Rise and Teddie took their seats,

“Hey, listen up,” 

Ah, Yosuke had to admit, having everyone’s eyes on him was tougher than he’d like to admit. Customer service was one thing, but actually having to motivate people… damn that Yu, why did he have to go off like that..?

“Um, okay,” Yosuke continued, avoiding eye contact with most of the group, “Yu’s okay right now, so we don’t have to worry about him. We’re going to focus on saving Nanako, alright?”

A unanimous nod came from the group as Yosuke sat back down, followed by an inquiry from Yukiko,

“Hey, what would happen if we ran into Yu-kun on our way through?”

“Well, that’s obvious,” Kanji responded, a determined smile plastered across his face, “we knock some sense into him for running off by himself, then kick that delivery guy’s ass for kidnapping Nanako-chan!”

“Slow down, Kanji-kun,” Naoto replied in a much calmer manner, “Yu-senpai is very reasonable. I’m sure he has a good reason for putting himself in such a situation.”

“Well, yeah,” Chie stated matter-of-factly, “I mean, his younger cousin got _kidnapped_. I’d say that’s a pretty good reason.”

Yukiko responded, downcast, “Yes, but, he should’ve known he could count on us, even if he couldn’t talk to us at the time…”

“I’m sure it’s not an issue of trust, Yukiko-senpai,” Naoto did her best to reassure the girls, “but perhaps a deeper reasoning lies underneath the surface.”

“Whatever it is,” Yosuke decided to participate, “we’ll figure it out once we can ask him. Until then, we can support him from behind, yeah?” he winked, trying to lighten the mood.

Their spirits lifted somewhat, Yosuke’s focus settled on Teddie, who had taken his seat next to him, studying the table in front of him and fiddling with his fingernails.

Leaving the rest of the Team to converse amongst themselves, Yosuke decided to get Teddie talking,

“Something wrong, Ted?”

Glancing up for a split-second, Teddie shook his head,,

“I’m just worried about them…”

“Don’t be,” Yosuke, “Yu can take care of himself. As for Nanako-chan… she’s a strong girl. And Yu’s probably already on his way to rescue her, after all.”

His sight still stuck on the table, Teddie nodded, somewhat satisfied. He seemed to understand, Yosuke thought.

“Okay,” Yosuke spoke up again, “we should get going. Rise, did you pick up their location?”

“Not exactly,” she responded, “but I can get a clearer picture once we get in.”

Yosuke nodded, standing up and leaving the table, the others following behind him. They silently made their way towards the electronics department, stopping just before entering the TV.

“We need to focus on rescuing Nanako,” Yosuke turned around in front of the TV to face the rest of his Team, “if we find Yu, that’s great, but we need to remember that Nanako is in _grave_ danger right now.”

Heh, maybe he was getting used to this leader thing.

...Yosuke looked around at his friends, who remained unresponsive. Their eyes were fixed somewhere way past Yosuke. 

“Huh? What’s wrong?”

“Ah, Yosuke…” Chie finally spoke up, “look behind you.”

Turning with caution, Yosuke’s sight was immediately greeted with… ripples? But, these were the ripples they saw when _they_ came in and out of the TV, and everyone was here, so who…

...any thoughts that could have entered Yosuke’s mind were interrupted as someone familiar found his footing after emerging from the TV screen.

Yosuke gasped, 

“Yu?”

— — —

Things were no longer running smoothly.

Yu had busied himself so much with focusing his attention on avoiding the shadows and climbing, he didn’t take into account the midboss on floor 7. 

Yu’s stamina had drained rather significantly during his climb, as he’d kept Izanagi summoned so he could focus entirely on making his way up as fast as possible. In hindsight, this was a mistake.

Staggering away from the fight against the World Balance, Yu took a moment, settling down against a pillar to catch his breath and re-gain his own balance.

He began wondering if he could keep it up long enough to face Namatame. Considering how much he struggled against one strong enemy, there was no way he could win against him, or rather, Kunino Sagiri, alone… he’d have to secure Nanako without getting Namatame riled up.

…

He’d best be on his way.

Gathering his energy, Yu stood up, feeling less disoriented and more so drained than before. Of course, no amount of fatigue could keep him from finding his goal. He’d stop when he’s dead.

The next set of stairs appeared before him soon enough, and he summoned Izanagi once again, returning to his normal routine of clearing floors.

The sky around Yu grew darker as he neared the top floor… at this rate, he’d be facing Namatame in no time.

...Actually, this is a written work, so for you viewers, it was indeed no time at all.

Practically dragging himself up the beanstalk-stairs and up to the final floor of Heaven, Yu fell to his knees at the sight of those huge double doors that resided just before the bridge and platform that held Nanako and… Namatame.

_This won’t be easy_ , Yu reminded himself as he came to his feet, taking deep breaths and willing himself to keep steady. He wouldn’t… he _couldn’t_ show weakness in front of Namatame. Or Nanako, for that matter.

…

Slowly, he placed his hands on the pristine doors in front of him, feeling a slight tremble he couldn’t quite shake off.

_This won’t be easy._

He shoved the doors aside in unison, sparing no time in making his way forward.

“Y-you! Stay… stay back! I won’t let you have her!”

Yu stopped at the bottom of the final, more normal staircase, which led the way to Namatame’s big platform.

“Ngh… Big Bro…”

In an instant, Yu’s mind went totally blank, and his hard shell of a facade became challenged. She’s really there…

This was his last chance. There’s absolutely no room for error here.

_This_ _won’t be easy._

“Nanako,” Yu kept his voice steady before being so rudely interrupted,

“Stop it! Get back! This girl… I’m going to save this girl!”

Sharpening his expression, Yu looked back at Namatame, silently daring him to go on.

“You can’t have her,” Namatame said.

Yu stood, his stance and expression unchanged, “Why?”

“I’m going to save her.”

“No,” another voice cut in… “ _I’m_ going to.”

Namatame looked past Yu as the latter turned around, seeking the source of the… eerily familiar voice.

W-wait…

“Step aside,” said the strange, silver-haired newcomer as he shoved Yu aside to run up the stairs.

This wasn’t right.

“Another one..? N-no! Get back!!!” Namatame pulled Nanako closer to himself, stepping back in a frantic manner. 

But, Yu didn’t have a…

“St-” Yu threw himself up the staircase without a second thought, catching up to the other boy, “stop! Get away from her… You…”

“What?” this newcomer turned, returning Yu’s gaze with his own; golden-eyed and vacant,

“Did you have a better idea?”

Yu stood, frozen, his shaking hands longing to grip his sword. Why now… why did his shadow show up now?!

“Yeah,” the new Shadow continued, “I knew you didn’t. I mean, I’m you, after all.”

Yu was at a loss. What was this guy’s point..? Usually, a person’s Shadow highlighted some kind of insecurity or repressed emotions. But… this one was pretty level-headed. And expressionless.

“You don’t want to,” the Shadow said plainly, his gaze refusing to leave Yu. 

“I don’t want to what?” Yu wouldn’t give in… whatever this guy had to say, he had to accept it. But that doesn’t mean he’d let his guard down.

“You don’t want to save her. You wanted to prove yourself.”

“...”

Honestly, the thought had been in the back of his mind this whole time… like, he could hardly stand on his own two feet. Literally and figuratively. But he was the only one who could… who could do it at the time. He had to save her.

“Big Bro…” Yu’s attention snapped back to Nanako as she spoke, “help…” her voice was getting weaker… and it sounded like she wasn’t even aware that there were two ‘Big Bros’. Dammit, he didn’t have time to deal with a Shadow like this..!

“Okay,” Yu spoke, realizing soon he held a desperate tone, “okay, I know. I can’t…” his stance wavered as he spoke, “I shouldn’t have come in alone.”

“Yu Narukami,” Yu flinched from hearing his name spoken like that as his shadow grew closer to him, “you don’t understand.”

Yu glanced back and forth between Nanako, who was struggling to breathe, Namatame, bewilderedly watching the scene unfold, and his Shadow, who refused to let Yu out of his line of sight. He was starting to feel dizzy…

Shadow Yu continued, “Nanako could have survived back then. It’s in no way a matter of _when_ you saved her… you know that. You _feel_ it.”

Yu hoped Namatame and Nanako weren’t paying too much attention...

“I, you, _we_ don’t want help,” he grew more confident as he spoke.

Yu stood, speechless, either from the sheer terror of seeing himself talking down to him or out of intense curiosity. Or both.

The Shadow, seemingly taking hold of the floor, spoke up again, this time much louder and… obnoxious.

“I’m the only one who can actually _save_ her. Everyone else just… well, forgive me, but they were just in the way last time.”

Yu cringed. Why did Nanako have to be here for this..?

“They’ll all know, once I bring her back,” the Shadow continued, “they’ll know I can stand on my own two feet. No more having to put up a front. No more pretending I’m not as strong as I am… I’ve been at this for _two years_ , dammit!”

He- the Shadow- came closer to Yu as he droned on,

“They’ll stop thinking I’m like them… they won’t help me,” he set a hand on the real Yu’s shoulder, staring him down directly,

“They won’t think I need to _lean on them_ . No more looking down on me… no more variations of, ‘are you okay?’ and, ‘do you need my help?’ For goodness sake, I’m not as _weak_ as them.”

His speech got worse by the sentence… it made Yu feel sick. Feeling his face grow hot, he spoke up, “Stop… please, I understand, just…”

“Give it up…”

Both Yus turned to look at Namatame, who decided to finally speak up. His eyes were totally wild, nearly bugging out of his head. Yu’s chest tightened as he noticed the way Nanako was hardly standing on her own anymore…

He didn't have time for this…

“I’m not giving her to _either_ of you..!”

Namatame…

“Big talk,” Yu stared, wide eyed, as his shadow began… antagonizing Namatame..?

“You can’t protect her,” the Shadow continued, “You know that.”

“Shut up!” Namatame looked back down to the ground, “I- I have the power…”

Yu’s stomach sank. This wasn’t good… this wasn’t good, but what could he…

“You’re a coward, Namatame. You haven’t saved anyone.”

“I saved that group of kids..!”

“ _I_ saved that group of kids. _You_ threw them into… here,” the Shadow gestured to the general area around them.

“You’re wrong…” Namatame’s voice quivered.

“ _You’re_ wrong!” Yu’s Shadow retorted as he took a step towards the older man, an immature smile on his face.

“Get back.” Namatame looked up to return Shadow Yu’s persistent stare. 

The Shadow’s smile only grew more sinister as he took another step toward Namatame.

“I- I…” Namatame wavered, unsure of how to go on.

Their back-and-forth droned on as Yu stood aside, watching with unfocused eyes,

“Wait,” Yu hesitated, unsure if either of them could hear him… or wanted to. His voice sounded more strained than he’d like to admit, but nonetheless, he continued on,

“Namatame- don’t..! Nanako will-”

“ _Don’t come any closer..._ ” Namatame’s eyes grew wide, his eyes suddenly swapping colors to match Yu’s own Shadow’s, “I’m- _I’m going to save this girl._ ”

It wasn’t a scene that Yu cared much to re-live. And, considering he was currently re-living it, he wasn’t thrilled at the sight of Namatame and his swarm of surrounding shadows, coming together to form…

Well, Kunino Sagiri hadn’t been formed yet. Without thinking, Yu found himself rushing into the swarm… most of them were moving too fast to bother with him anyways, so…

He called out, his vision crowded and ears filled with the rushing sounds of moving shadows, 

“Nanako..!”

...Nanako, _please_.

…More and more shadows came… Yu was losing focus. It was so loud… the shadows would end up blocking out all the light around him soon enough.

“...br...o…”

Feeling something frail brush against his hand, Yu took hold of whatever it was and jumped back immediately, hoping it was her. Nanako… 

Yu looked down. Nanako was in his arms.

Nanako was safe.

...Turns out, Yu didn’t make his leave fast enough. This was discovered when he was suddenly knocked down, pushed aside by the force of…

Yu’s voice wavered, “Kunino Sagiri…”

Yu shifted, sitting up and resting Nanako on his knee, glancing up at the huge, floating form of… what used to be Namatame before dropping his gaze back down to Nanako, who had yet to respond to her surroundings.

“Give her back… I- _I’m going to save her!!”_

Yu ignored Kunino Sagiri and remained fixed on Nanako. Could he escape in time to get her out safely?!

“...Ignore him.”

Yu looked back up, gasping as his Shadow made his way toward him. He tightened his grip on Nanako, refusing to let his Shadow out of his sight.

Seeing, well, himself walking towards him gave Yu an idea…

Bringing Nanako close to him, Yu inquired just before his Shadow said something else antagonizing,

“You want to be your own person… right?”

“I’m sorry?”

Yu glanced to make sure Kunino Sagiri was remaining still before elaborating,

“You don’t want to be my Shadow. You… I’ve seen it with everyone else. Their shadows embraced themselves after they were denied by their counterparts, and, well…” Yu looked down, recalling the monstrous beings that spawned from his friends in the past.

“I’m you,” Yu’s Shadow sighed, “and you’re-”

“It’s okay,” Yu stood, holding Nanako tightly as he stood up surprisingly steadily, “you’re not me.”

“...”

Yu stepped in, closing most of the distance between himself and his Shadow, “You're not me at all,” he held Nanako higher up, showing her to the Shadow.

Shadow Yu nodded. Of course he’d understand… he was Yu after all. The real Yu handed Nanako over to his Shadow, reluctant to let go. He’d just have to trust that he could get her out… of course, insane as he might seem, the only reason he would even consider handing her over was because he knew his Shadow meant no harm to her. Whatever he did to Yu’s reputation was another matter altogether, but if it meant Nanako would survive...

Yu collapsed onto his knees, taking deep breaths as his Shadow spared no time in making his leave with Nanako. Before he’d left completely, he called out behind him,

“Don’t let Namatame take you out before I get back… I want to take you out myself, and replace you once and for all!”

There was a part of Yu that wanted to believe this ‘other him’ meant well, but… he knew what the Shadows were.

...Yu didn’t mind the threat. Nanako would be… safe.

“ _You can’t take her…”_

Oh.

Yu had been so caught up in his plan to get Nanako out of the TV, he had completely omitted the fact that Namatame- er- Kunino Sagiri still loomed scarily near to him.

“ _You…”_ Kunino Sagiri pointed at Yu, “ _I won’t be fooled… you let her go just now, didn’t you?!”_

...had the Shadow dilemma confused him that much? Or, was he only able to sense Nanako?

Actually, thinking about it now, Yu realized that Namatame _had_ been in here without the glasses, not to mention his mind was still racing from both kidnapping Nanako and being chased by Dojima. 

...not that it was okay, it was just understandable why Namatame was disoriented. Not to mention the absolute power that just came out of him.

“ _Why… why won’t you move? Give her back… give Nanako back! I’m going to save her!!”_

Hearing Nanako’s name come from such a… grotesque being made Yu want to throw up. He stared up, wondering how he should begin to respond to Kunino Sagiri.

“I don’t…” Yu began, his voice faded, “I can’t get to her any more.”

“ _What?!”_

“She’s far away now,” Yu spoke up as he held his gaze firm on Kunino Sagiri, “She might even be outside of the TV by now.”

“ _You’re lying…”_

“I don’t have the energy to lie to you,” he said bluntly.

Despite bluffing about how far Nanako had gotten, there was truth to Yu’s last statement. He was still half-crumbled on the floor here… he was pretty sure he couldn’t have stood up if he’d tried.

“ _I’m not letting you get away from me…”_

Yu’s eyes widened… what did that mean?

“ _If someone like you were able to find us in here, then...”_ Kunino Sagiri continued, in a hushed manner, “ _I’ll hold you here with me…_ ”

This didn’t make sense…

“ _The killer will know…_ ”

If this were some kind of TV show, this is where someone would come in all hero-like and save Yu from… whatever Kunino Sagiri was planning. 

Ironic that they were _inside of a TV,_ and yet…

Yu tried to summon Izanagi, reaching as high up as his arm would reach, but Yu’s power wavered, leaving the faint, descending card to fizzle out halfway down.

“ _If I can’t save that girl...”_ Yu’s vision clouded without warning, his extremities going limp as he felt his glasses falling off… or were they knocked off? 

His ears filled with white noise and his thoughts became more and more muddled…

He could hardly understand what Kunino Sagiri said in the pitch black of his sight as his senses faded away,

“ _I’ll just have to lure the killer here instead.”_

— — —

“Back off, gosh,” Yu spat out almost as soon as he came out of the television. Understandable, Yosuke thought, seeing as he was pretty much immediately swarmed with questions and concerns upon his return.

“Senpai,” Naoto called out, her assertiveness overpowering the crowd around Yu, “is Nanako alright?”

“Probably not,” the rest of the noise died down as everyone focused their attention on the drained Nanako in Yu’s arms, “but, she’s alive.”

Naoto nodded, stepping away to make a call on her cell phone.

“Wow, Senpai,” Rise stepped forward, her expression eager, “you saved her all by yourself..?”

“Whoa-a-a,” Chie emphasized her words, “you really _are_ something else entirely...”

A subtle spread on Yu’s face as he received this praise.

Teddie spoke up from his place next to Yosuke, “Sensei, I’m beary glad you’re alright, but, is Nana-chan..?”

“Oh,” Yosuke noticed Yu’s expression shift back as he responded, “Don’t worry about it.”

That’s Yu, blunt as always…

...That was a normal response… right?

Yukiko studied Nanako, concern in every inch of her expression, “Are we sure she’s okay, though..? She’s looking pretty rough.”

“Well,” Chie chimed in, giving Yukiko a reassuring pat on the back, “if Yu’s not worried, I’m not worried.”

That seemed to cheer her up… probably.

Yosuke looked over to Naoto, who had just put away her cell,

“The paramedics should be here for Nanako soon, Senpai,” she announced, “have you sustained any injuries yourself?”

“Huh?” Yu flinched, a trace of annoyance in his voice, “Of course not..”

..?

Yosuke, interested in Naoto’s response, saw just a flash of curiosity on her face as well before she answered with a nod,

“That’s good, then.”

The conversation ended, just like that.

“It is strange, though,” Yukiko looked to Chie, then down at Yu, “you went all the way in to find Nanako-chan, and you're not even a little bit dirty, Yu-kun.”

“Yeah,” Kanji joined in, grinning as he inched closer to the group, “even though you’re wearing mostly dark colors, I can’t notice anything at all. You’re really something, Senpai.”

...Yu was smiling again.

“Yu-senpai,” heads turned as Naoto addressed Yu again, “...I’m surprised at your ability. You’re quite a strong leader.”

Yosuke leaned back, crossing his arms. More praise..?

...He noticed Yu’s eyes brighten.

“Though,” Naoto went on, “you didn’t face _any_ battles? No mid-level guardians or normal shadows? I’m sure that anything would have caused you at least _some_ trouble along the way, considering your being without your sword and armor.”

His expression blanked, ever so smoothly… Naoto was getting at something. It seemed the rest of the Team could tell something was off, too, though… some were more perceptive than others.

“It was no trouble,” he said bluntly.

“I see,” Naoto matched his tone, “well, if you’re alright, and Nanako’s stable, would you like to hear about what happened out here while you were inside the TV?”

Right… Yosuke didn’t even think about it, but Yu was totally clueless about Dojima’s condition… The same kind of realization dawned on the rest of the Investigation Team, as well.

Yu’s expression grew stern, “No, thanks.”

Yosuke, his arms still crossed, gripped the side of his jacket sleeve. ‘No’..?

“Are you sure?” Naoto continued calmly, “It concerns your uncle.”

“Maybe later,” Yu said, almost… sarcastically.

Yosuke was a little… shocked. He’d expected Yu to say ‘yes’ immediately, he expected him to show _any_ sign of concern… because he _did_ care for his family, right? That’s why he rushed in to save Nanako, isn’t it? But, right now, he…

Naoto, her collected demeanor unchanged by Yu’s out-of-character response, responded with a curt, “Very well.”

Silence fell upon the group, Yu’s attention focused somewhere down the electronics aisle as the rest of the Team exchanged glances.

A sound came from the floor’s entrance as Naoto abruptly announced,

“The paramedics are here. Yu-senpai, would you bring Nanako and follow me?”

Yu left without a word, or even a nod. The atmosphere remained tense as the remaining Investigation Team members conversed amongst themselves.

“Yosuke...” Teddie looked up at Yosuke, his eyes wide. Poor Ted… he always got so worked up over stuff like this.

“It’ll be alright,” Yosuke cringed as he spoke, “Yu’s probably just tired, is all. And Nanako’s getting checked out right now.”

Teddie nodded, fiddling with the rose he’d attached to his shirt pocket.

“...Yu said not to worry about her,” Yosuke continued, uncertainty making its way into his voice.

“Sensei… oh, oh, Yosuke!” Teddie bounced, his melancholy suddenly gone, “I felt something… something very bear-miliar* when I saw Sensei come out of the TV..!”

(*familiar)

“When he came out of it..?”

“Uh huh, like, ‘I know this feeling, I can’t really tell what it is, though… or where it’s from’.”

“What, like, deja vu or something?” Yosuke responded casually, “it probably just reminded you of all the times we’ve come out of the TV together.”

“Well…” Teddie began, “maybe.”

Yosuke and Teddie turned as footsteps began approaching them from the exit,

“Nanako-chan is on her way to the hospital,” Naoto declared, “the paramedics were able to stabilize her condition, and she’s doing just fine now.”

Chie was the first to respond, a bright smile on her face, “Oh, thank goodness..!”

The group relaxed, their eyes gleaming along with the smiles that spread on their faces.

Naoto called everyone’s attention again, 

“Everyone,” she called out, “I want to ask that you exercise caution when interacting with Yu-senpai. I’m sure you’ve noticed, something is awfully off putting about his behavior.”

“Yeah,” Chie cut in, “what was that whole thing with him being super vague about Nanako..?”

Rise added, “And when he just brushed off Naoto’s offer to fill him in, even when she told him Dojima-san was involved…”

“I understand that it’s concerning,” Naoto continued, “but please keep that request in mind.”

Yosuke looked around, behind himself, and past Naoto, noticing a significant presence missing…

“Where is Yu, anyways?” Yosuke questioned.

“I’m sorry, Yosuke-senpai,” Naoto responded, “I just sent him home for the evening.”

“Oh no it’s okay, I was just wondering.”

Looking down, Yosuke thought…

_Would Yu be okay?_

...

“Yosuke-senpai,” Naoto called out to Yosuke as everyone began to file away for the night, “a word, please.”

“Oh, Naoto-kun,” Yosuke parted ways with the thick of the group to stand next to Naoto, “what’s up?”

“I’d like to ask something of you…”

“Is it about Yu?”

Naoto nodded, “Indeed it is. I was hoping you’d be able to… observe him for me.”

Yosuke understood. Yu wasn’t himself… even if he was tired, or impatient, or whatever, he wouldn’t just brush off concern for his own family like he did.

Naoto continued, “You two are close friends, that much is certain. Surely, well,” Naoto looked down for a moment before blinking and returning her gaze to Yosuke, “if something _is_ wrong with Senpai, he’d tell _you_.”

“‘If’ something’s wrong..?”

Naoto looked past Yosuke, as if in thought, “Well… let’s say, I have my suspicions.”

“I understand,” Yosuke stated in confidence, “I’ll keep an eye on him.”

“Thank you,” Naoto looked down, a subtle smile making its way onto her expression.

“...Hey, Naoto-kun?”

“Yes,” Naoto’s attention came back to Yosuke, “What is it?”

Yosuke shifted a bit, “It’s... supposed to rain Monday night.”

“Of course, the day after tomorrow, yes?” Naoto showed her smile, “Well then, please do not hesitate to call me if anything comes up.”

“I won’t.”

Satisfied, Naoto walked past Yosuke,

“Thank you. Goodnight, Yosuke-senpai.”

“Night, Naoto-kun.”

— — —

_Ding, dong_

_…_

_Ding dong_

_…_

_Dingdongdingdongdingdongding-_

“What the _hell,”_ the Dojima’s door nearly fell out of the wall from pure force as a totally pissed Yu appeared from behind it, “ _do you want._ ”

“Evening, Partner!” Yosuke winked.

“...”

“Uhm,” Yosuke, sensing that Yu was very much not in the mood, chose his words carefully, “you just didn’t come to school today, is all. Well, obviously you knew that, I mean- you didn’t answer your phone all day yesterday, either. I was just checking up on you.”

“...” Yu’s eyes darkened.

“Look, I’m sorry I bothered you,” Yosuke averted his eyes.

“Was I not clear..?”

“Huh? Clear about what, Partner?”

“ _Don’t_ call me your-”

Yu’s sentence was cut off by a sudden, sharp breeze. It was hardly November… Inana winters were rough.

“Damn, I can’t stand this cold,” Yu spoke up again, this time a little less aggravated.

Just a little.

“...come on,” Yu opened the door fully, walking inside immediately after. Yosuke followed…

Yu stopped, still standing, in front the window nearest to the downstairs TV. The lights were all off… of course, the natural light of the setting sun bathed the room in a dim glow.

After kicking off his shoes, Yosuke cautiously stopped just at the end of the hallway.

“...Partn-”

“I’m not your partner.”

Yosuke flinched. He… wasn’t expecting that. Or maybe he was. He wasn’t sure what he’d expected from Yu right now, really.

Yu continued, “we’re not the same,” he turned around, a bored look on his face, “you need to understand that.”

Something was off. More importantly, something was familiar… about the way Yu spoke.

Yosuke remembered what Teddie said back at Junes the day before last… how he’d had that familiar feeling, too.

...Yosuke decided to keep him talking, for now.

“What do you… I mean-” nevermind, this was going horribly.

“We’re not _the same_ ,” Yu continued, nonetheless, “just because you’re some city boy, that doesn’t mean we’re… look, it’s not just you, either. Everyone else…”

Yosuke crossed his arms. The sunlight peeking inside from in front of Yu began to fade. 

Whatever Yu was about to say… yeah, it’s gonna be rough.

“Everyone, all of _you_ , think that just because we all have the same power, that we’re… _equals_ ,” Yu spoke with such venom that Yosuke wasn’t sure if he was hearing him correctly.

Shocked and unsure of how to respond, or if Yu would _let_ him respond, Yosuke only stared back at him, wide-eyed.

“What? Did I scare you..?” Yu took a step forward, just a few inches or so, before continuing,

“ _Good._ Human waste like you should _know his damn place_.”

Yosuke brought his arms closer together, searching Yu’s face for a trace of the one who used to call himself Yosuke’s Partner.

…

“Man, are you _ever_ going to talk?” Yu smiled… a thin, sinister smile that just didn’t fit on Yu’s face, “I miss hearing the shit that comes out of your mouth.”

This was wrong.

“C’mon, _Partner,”_ Yu’s smile remained as his eyes grew dull, “I’m just as weak as you… right?” the mocking tone in his voice made Yosuke cringe.

He froze as Yu confidently made his way towards him.

This was _wrong._

“It’s not like I’m just… stronger, or anything,” ‘Yu’ continued, “I need just as much help as I can get, can’t I? That’s why you came here…” Yu stopped just in front of his Part- er- friend, leaning in in an invasive manner, “Yo~suke..!”

The… almost _playful_ tone Yu had taken on as he said his name made Yosuke’s stomach twist.

_This was_ **_so_ ** _wrong._

“Yu,” Yosuke shrunk back, “no- you’re…” he knew this feeling.

Yu’s eyes narrowed, and his smile deepened, “Say it.”

“You’re not him…” Yosuke didn’t want to believe it,

“You’re not Yu… are you?” There’s _no way_ it’s actually true, but…

The empty house echoed with the sinister sound of Yu’s- er- ‘Yu’s’ twisted laughter. Yosuke didn’t want to watch his Partner like this… even if it wasn’t really him, just seeing Yu’s face like… that.

Really, it was too much...

“Oh-h-h, you got it~” Yu’s figure chimed, “I’m almost a little sad… the absolute terror on your face when you thought I was really Yu, oh man,” he chuckled, “that was _great_..! Hey, show it to me again sometime, would you?”

Yosuke wasn’t having it,

“What did you do with him?”

“Who, that trembling, sister-complex, insecure excuse of a ‘leader’?”

Yosuke blinked. ‘Sister-complex’..?

Well, whatever… hearing a bunch of junk like that coming from Yu was one thing, but hearing this… thing, insult him outright like that…

It just didn’t sit right.

The faux-Yu continued, “I’ll have you know, _he_ let _me_ out here. Went through the whole denial thing, et cetera. Next thing I know, I have this kid in my arms and I’m on my way outside.”

“Wait,” Yosuke stepped back, “he denied you..?”

Yosuke had hoped with his whole heart that this Yu was just an impostor or something, but was he Yu’s shadow?

_...Please don’t be true_ , Yosuke thought.

“Oh,” ‘Yu’ continued, “did you not realize it? And here I’d thought you were at least somewhat perceptive…” he looked down for a moment before returning his gaze to Yosuke, “well, no matter. I’ll dumb it down for you.”

Yosuke wanted to leave. _So bad._

“I was Yu’s shadow.”

“Was..?”

The… Shadow nodded, “Was. See, he was too weak to finish what he’d started… he couldn’t take his own little sister out of the TV. _That’s_ why he needed _my_ help, and he _knew_ that he couldn’t get it without denying my existence in himself.”

...it was… unreal, but the pieces began to fit together in Yosuke’s head.

Teddie must have felt that this Yu was a Shado back then… even if he didn’t know it.

“So…” Yosuke began, “Yu wasn’t able to take Nanako home after he found her. You appeared, and Yu denied you, which gave you the freedom to… come outside of the TV? And you took Nanako outside, too?”

...Nevermind, it didn’t sound as right as Yosuke thought it did. When he put it into words, at least.

The Shadow nodded, “That’s about it, yes.”

“Why Nanako?”

“Huh?” Yu’s figure looked taken aback, “Well, I don’t have anything against her. She’s weak, and fragile, and a pain, but I don’t have any reason to leave her there to die. I mean,” he looked off to the side, “if she hadn’t been kidnapped, I probably would never have even had my chance to shine. Y’know?”

Before Yosuke could take in what he’d said, ‘Yu’ looked back to him, his smile fading, “I’m guessing you’re all going back to ‘save’ him, then?”

“You know us too well,” Yosuke joked, though his expression remained stiff, and serious.

‘Yu’ smirked, “Probably. Now, I’ll be coming with you all, of course.”

Yosuke looked down, thoughtfully,

“...If you were anything else,” Yosuke averted his eyes from Yu’s figure, “I’d object like hell. But… he needs to accept you, I guess, so…”

“Accept me..? I have every intention of destroying him before that happens.”

Yosuke knew, if Yu couldn’t accept his shadow, they’d just beat it up anyways. Then Yu would know… he would know that his friends would be there for him, no matter what he thought about them, or himself.

Even knowing so, Yosuke _hated_ hearing this guy talk… he hated how _any_ of the Shadows talked. His blood would probably boil over if he had to hear anything else Yu’s Shadow wanted to proclaim.

Yosuke’s eyes narrowed as he spoke, “...Just don’t get in our way.”

“Oh, no,” the Shadow’s eyes grew wide, either with confusion of excitement, “I don’t intend to hinder you in any way. If I have to prove my strength… I’ll do it.”

“Whatever,” Yosuke couldn’t freaking believe himself. A Shadow would be _on their Investigation Team_. 

_A shadow!_

Yosuke turned to leave without a word, desperate to get out of that stupid house. As he was putting his shoes back on, he heard Yu call out from behind him,

“It’s going to rain soon, Yosuke. The Midnight Channel will be on tonight.”

He turned around, wondering if the Shadow would say anything else more _useful_ before he left.

As if on cue, ‘Yu’ continued,

“You’re going to want to watch it.”

Yosuke turned back and left without saying a word, dialing Naoto’s number before he’d even left the Dojima property.


	2. a fight scene made by someone who has never written a fight scene

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Y’know, I’m just writing this as I go. I should probably start proofreading these

His mind was drawing a complete blank.

Where, who, what… everything he could take in around him seemed abstract.

“ _The program is about to begin,”_ he heard from somewhere vague in the back of his mind, _“you needn’t worry. I’ll be doing all of the work.”_

His body stood, motionless, staring at the blindingly blue expanse in front of him as his mouth began forming words all on its own. 

The white noise filling his ears seemed to drown out whatever it was he said, though.

— — —

A warm glow emitted from the TV…

Yosuke checked the clock from where he and Teddie sat in front of Yosuke’s TV screen. Was it already midnight..?

“Yosuke,” Teddie tightened his grip around Yosuke’s arm, “it’s starting!!”

“I know, you dumb bear,” Yosuke didn’t take his eyes off of the television, “now _shut up_. Yu’s Shadow said this was important.”

Taking the hint, Teddie calmed down a bit, still holding tight onto Yosuke. As annoying as he was, Yosuke figured he shouldn’t shake him up much tonight.

...Just as Yosuke had suspected, Yu was very clearly visible on the TV screen. The only scenery visible was a bright, almost blinding blue sky, and Yu had on the same winter clothes he usually wore. His head was oddly cut off screen at the very top…

His glasses were nowhere to be seen, though.

“Good evening,” Teddie jumped as Yu began speaking, no distortion audible in his voice, 

“And welcome to the ‘Midnight Channel’,” the Yu on the TV brought his hands to his back.

Yosuke focused, paying close attention everything Yu said and did.

“My name is Yu Narukami, leader of the Investigation Team responsible for solving the murder cases of Mayumi Yamano and Saki Konishi.”

Yosuke’s heart sank at the mention of Saki. Though, why only Ms. Yamano and Saki..? The rest of the Investigation Team was thrown in, too…

Before Yosuke had time to really think, the ‘camera’ suddenly cut to a more up close shot, framing most of Yu’s head, minus a small cut off on the top, and his shoulders.

“I don’t intend on fighting. You know where to find me,” Yu’s faint smile didn’t reach his unmoving, grey eyes.

The TV shut off, enveloping Yosuke and Teddie in a chilling darkness.

— — —

The electronics department was pretty empty for a Tuesday afternoon.

“Yosuke-senpai,” Naoto spoke up almost as soon as the man in question arrived with ‘Yu’ and Teddie, 

“what exactly… is this?”

“What, did I not tell you?” Yosuke glanced at the Shadow Yu, “he’s coming with us.”

“Nuh uh,” Chie stomped, like she’d kick Yosuke if she had the chance to, “I am _not_ getting all buddy-buddy with a _shadow_.”

“Yeah,” Yukiko added, stepping closer to Chie, “and Yu-kun is _really_ strong himself… I won’t deny that the thought of his Shadow makes me nervous.”

“Now come on, everybody,” Rise spoke up, a pitiful tone in her voice, “Senpai needs to accept his Shadow, doesn’t he? I’m sure that both of them need to be there for that.”

“Look, everyone calm down,” Yosuke nearly yelled, “Shadow-kun here isn’t going to hurt anybody here. He seems pretty bent on getting to Yu himself.”

Kanji questioned, “Why wouldn’t he hurt us? I mean, he knows we’re helping Senpai, right?”

Shadow Yu spoke up before Yosuke had a chance to, “I don’t have any reason to kill you all. Yet. Besides, my fight is with that shriveling little sister-complex-”

“Just-” Yosuke interrupted, “just use his name, dude.”

“Fine. My battle lies with Yu, then.”

“In other words,” Naoto commented, in her usual unbiased tone, “we remain neutral unless one of us opposes the other. Is that correct?”

Shadow Yu nodded, “Correct. But, if you all want to get in my way while I’m in there with Yu, I’m taking you all down along with him.”

Naoto, satisfied, responded, “You’re pretty non confrontational for a Shadow, for the most part. Very well,” she looked around at her comrades as she spoke again, “then, we are not to attack each other until we see what happens with Yu-senpai. Are we all in agreement?”

With a simultaneous nod from everyone, including a very subtle one from Shadow Yu, it seemed like everyone was on the same page.

Chie interrupted everyone’s happy anime moment with a meek, “...oh no.”

Looking over, Yukiko was practically vibrating next to Chie. Her hand was covering her mouth, like she was desperate to hold in a laugh-

Oh. Oh no indeed.

“ _Snrk_ \- I- I just…” Yukiko struggled to talk over her giggles, “when Yosuke- when Yosuke called him ‘Shadow-kun’- it’s just-”

Yosuke wanted to tell her that nickname was, like, probably used at least 8 dialogue breaks ago. But he didn’t.

...She broke into an all out cackle that would probably, literally, petrify any Junes customer who happened to be walking by. Yosuke silently apologized to his parents… and promised he’d help clean up the patrons’ statue-ified remains.

“Ugh,” Chie groaned, “let’s just go into the TV already.”

— — —

“ _Someone is here,”_ he heard, again coming from somewhere in his head. 

“ _You’re going to speak to them soon. However… once again, you needn’t worry about the work.”_

This time, he observed, the scene in front of him was a dark, rich blue. But that’s all he knew about it. 

— — —

Chie grabbed a water bottle, (provided by Yosuke,) and settled herself against the huge stalk they’d use as stairs in a few minutes, catching her breath as she did so.

“Hey,” she called out to the rest of the Investigation Team, who were taking their places as well, “did you guys watch the Midnight Channel last night?”

“Oh,” Yukiko responded from where she sat next to Naoto and Rise, “I’d completely forgotten, we haven’t talked about that!”

Chie nodded, “Yeah, most I’ve done is call you about it, Yukiko.”

Naoto stated, “I assume we all have, out of concern and curiosity alike. Am I wrong?”

Hearing no objections, Naoto went on, “Then, what were everyone’s thoughts on it?”

Teddie was the first to answer, stepping forward from his spot next to Yosuke, who was leaning against a wall, “Sensei was acting really weird. He didn’t have his glasses on, or anything… and he was talking all… uh- Yosuke, what’s that word? It’s like how you sound when you’re ignoring what I’m saying.”

“What, pissed? Annoyed? Bored?” Yosuke guessed.

“Yeah- yeah that’s the one! Sensei was talking like he was bored!”

“Sure, but, not only that,” Yosuke added, “wasn’t the framing a bit off? Like, the top of his head was cut off in both shots.”

“Good observation, Yosuke-senpai,” Naoto praised him.

“I hadn’t even noticed,” Rise looked up, “I was busy thinking about… just how lifeless he looked.”

“Right,” Kanji added, “the dude hardly even bothered movin’. What’s with that..?”

Teddie frowned, “His eyes were so scary…”

Falling into a strange silence, everyone picked at their respective snacks or drinks.

“Hey you,” Yosuke called out, looking to the wall opposite him and Teddie at their golden-eyed ally, “what gives? We couldn’t shut you up before, and now you’re getting all quiet on us?”

“Yeah,” Teddie added, “ _you_ should know what happened to Sensei!”

Shadow Yu, a dull expression on his face, looked around the room for a bit, “You really can’t figure out anything by yourselves, can you..? Fine, but I’m going to complain about having to explain it to you.”

Naoto questioned, “Are you going to tell us what happened?”

“I can take a guess. Yu’s being controlled.”

Naoto’s gaze intensified, focusing heavily of Yu’s Shadow, “How do you know this..? Does Namatame have some kind of hold over him?”

“Namatame’s human, you dumbass. He’s not any different from us right now. It’s Kunino Sagiri that’s doing the dirty work.”

“Who’s... Kunino Sagiri?” Rise asked.

Shadow Yu sighed, “Yeah, I guess you guys haven’t seen him yet… essentially, he’s a higher power who took over Namatame’s body and mind. He has this power to control people like us, by placing a big red halo over their heads and forcing them to do his bidding. I’m guessing he took Yu over, as well.”

“Wait- wait a minute,” Chie cut in, “you mean Yu-kun is being _mind controlled?!”_

Kanji stepped forward, “This isn’t some sci-fi movie, dammit..! Just _tell us what happened.”_

“Hold on, Kanji-kun. ...Shadow-kun,” Naoto ignored a giggle from Yukiko, ”what do you mean, you’re guessing? Did you not see this happen?”

“How many circles are you going to go in...” Shadow Yu took a deep breath, and sighed, “I had already left with Nanako at that point. Whatever happened with Kunino Sagiri after that was out of my hands.”

“Then,” Kanji perked up again, “how the hell do you know he’s being mind controlled?”

“Ah, Kanji,” Yosuke began, exasperatedly, “do you honestly think Yu’s _Shadow_ wouldn’t be able to tell that something was _very wrong_ from the Midnight Channel alone?”

“You… have a point.”

“Heh,” Chie chuckled, “this all sounds so unreal. I mean, we’re getting information from a Shadow here..! And to think I was so opposed to it earlier…”

Yukiko joined, “It is pretty strange, isn’t it?”

“Would you _stop it_ all the sappy shit,” everyone looked up as Shadow Yu spoke, “I’m going,” he walked forward, nearing the stairs, 

“You know where to find me,” he winked and began his climb.

“Why you little-” Chie threw down her (now empty) water bottle and began climbing as well, determined to catch up to Yu’s Shadow, 

“You’re not getting to Yu-kun before us!”

“Wait, Chie!” Yukiko called, abandoning her snack and also chasing after the Shadow.

“Yuki-chan, wait for me~!” Teddie also began his chase.

Yosuke ran after him, “Oh no you don’t, dumbass bear!”

“Yosuke-senpai! You’re supposed to be our leader, remember?!” Rise hurriedly tried to catch up to him.

“Wha- hey! Don’t leave me alone with…” Kanji turned to Naoto, blushed, and bolted upstairs almost immediately.

Naoto sighed, declaring to no one, “Well, I suppose I should make my leave as well.”

— — —

There was a doorway in the final floor of Heaven… but it was open. 

The clear, deep, dark blue night sky was perfectly visible above and around them.

Yosuke turned back around to help his friends up the stairway. Yu’s Shadow, however…

Yosuke, noticing the Shadow was going on ahead, shouted, “Hey, don’t just go up like-”

“The agreement was only until we reached your leader,” Shadow Yu turned around, “I’m going to break that Kunino Sagiri’s hold over him and finish what I started.”

“...Yosuke-senpai,” Naoto called to Yosuke from where she stood behind him, “go on. We’ll catch up in a moment.”

Nodding, Yosuke caught up with Shadow Yu, who was still atop the platform.

His eyes were greeted with a familiar sight…

Silver hair. The back of a black jacket.

Yu was sitting, motionless, his back to Yosuke as he dangled his legs over the edge of the platform. The only sign of movement came from a strange, metallic, spinning red halo looming above Yu.

Yosuke sighed. Yu was safe… but he couldn’t let his guard down yet. That halo meant that Kunino Sagiri really was controlling him, right?

Before Yosuke had a chance to talk to Yu, the Shadow spoke up, 

“Don’t bother.”

“Huh?” Yosuke glanced over, realizing that the Shadow was talking to him.

Before he could receive an answer, the real Yu turned, taking in the two guests before swinging his legs onto the solid floor in front of Yosuke and Shadow Yu.

“Welcome,” Yu stated plainly, his movements unnaturally stiff as he stood up, vaguely resembling some mid-2000’s MMD anime model,

“My name is Yu Narukami, leader of the Investigation Team responsible for-”

“Hey,” Yosuke interrupted, “you’ve already said that..!”

As Yu stood, still and silent, Yosuke took in his appearance. Yu’s expression… sure, he could usually keep one hell of a poker face, but this was… just lifeless. Though it appeared that Yu was contemplating what to say, his face didn’t show it. 

“Are you…” Yu continued, “the killer?”

“You _pathetic_ ,” Yosuke jumped as Yu’s Shadow spoke, stepping closer to his other self, “useless, unworthy excuse of a leader. You wanted them to leave you alone so much, and this is where you end up?”

Yosuke wondered, thinking back to their former battles with his friends’ Shadows. could Yu’s Shadow still be voicing his inner thoughts..?

“Yosuke,” Teddie nearly bumped into Yosuke as he threw himself onto the platform in the sky, “what’s happening? Is Sensei okay?”

“Senpai!” Rise called out, following behind along with the rest of the Investigation Team.

“Yosuke-senpai,” Naoto stepped closer to him, “what’s going on?”

“Yu’s not… I- I think he is being controlled, but,” Yosuke stammered, his mind racing, “his Shadow might still be voicing, like, his thoughts… or something.”

Naoto nodded hurriedly, “I understand,” she rose her voice to address the rest of the Team,

“We need to wait and see what happens. With both Senpai and his Shadow.”

Immediately, Yu’s Shadow turned to speak to the group, “And you _onlookers_ ,” his golden eyes narrowed, disgust in his voice, “this isn’t your damn fight.”

Rise replied, desperately, “Senpai is our friend! We have to help..!”

“Friendship, bonds, whatever… I’m not _weak_ without them. I’m perfectly fine on my own… but _you_ ,” a deep scowl formed across his face, “you all seem to forget… _you_ need _me._ I don’t need to be helped, I don’t need to be saved..!”

His voice was growing desperate now. Yosuke could notice his hands shaking… either out of desperation or rage.

“Sensei…” Teddie’s lip quivered.

Yu’s Shadow turned back to the unmoving, real Yu, “Why won’t you move..? Why won’t you speak?! You’re stronger than this, dammit! You can show them… you don’t _need_ them! Wake up!!”

“Is this…” Chie spoke, meekly, “what Yu-kun is thinking _right now_..?”

“In a way, perhaps…” Naoto replied, seemingly having already pondered the possibility, “most likely, this is related to a powerless feeling that Senpai, consciously or unconsciously, is experiencing at this moment.”

“I don’t care…” Rise cried out, “this is just cruel...”

“The poor guy’s gone totally mindless,” Kanji spoke, downplaying his voice, “how’s he supposed to ‘cept his Shadow now?”

Chie asked, bluntly “...didn't Yu-kun reject his Shadow?”

“Perhaps he did, however…” Naoto came in, “did our Shadows not revert back to their human forms after being beaten in a battle? What if Yu-senpai’s Shadow reverted back because he completed his goal, rather than being defeated in it?”

Yukiko gasped, “That does make sense… you’re amazing, Naoto-kun!”

Kanji looked off to his side, “But wasn’t his goal to mess up Senpai?”

“Maybe...” Rise wondered out loud, “could he have had a separate goal for outside of the TV world? That way, when he came back here, Senpai would have to accept or reject him again.”

“Aww,” Chie sighed, “this is too much information for me to take in… I don’t get it at all!”

“Shut _up,”_ Yu’s Shadow turned back to the Investigation Team, his eyes growing wild, “you’re getting in my way! Why…” he turned back to his other self, enraged, “why did I let my guard down? Now’s my chance to show _everyone_ … I’m stronger!”

Kanji thought out loud, “Dude’s got his problems too, huh?”

“I feel bad,” Yukiko added, studying the floor, “I've known Yu-kun for the longest time, but, I didn’t realize…”

“Don’t blame yourself, Yukiko-senpai,” Naoto reassured her, “we need to focus purely on rescuing Yu-senpai right now.”

“Stop,” Yu’s Shadow turned once again, having lost every bit of composure he had once shown to the Investigation Team, “stop it, stop it, _just stop it..!_ Stop looking down on me…” he turned to the real Yu, “snap out of it, dammit!”

Yu twitched,

“This has gone on far too long,” he said, still expressionless.

Despite the hope that rose in Yosuke’s heart, Yu’s face didn’t change, and his eyes still held that lightless tone. Someone was talking through him, it seemed…

Confirming Yosuke’s suspicions, a… form… appeared from under the platform they all stood on. A pure black humanoid, with red… stripes?

“ _I’m going… to save everyone…”_

The symbols for ‘peace’ and ‘love’ were plastered across its shirt.

“What?” Chie exclaimed, baffled, “What is that thing?!”

“Kunino Sagiri,” Yu’s Shadow stated, almost like he was expecting it… or maybe he was.

“Who gives a shit what it’s called,” Kanji called out, his voice tense, “what the hell _is_ it?!”

“Useless bunch…” Yu’s Shadow whispered before continuing, “I _told you_ , this is what Namatame turned into. He’s _controlling me.”_

Yosuke blinked. It was odd to hear the Shadow refer to he and Yu as one person again.

The group turned to Kunino Sagiri as he began making his way toward Yu. Looking closer, Yosuke discovered that this guy had the same kind of halo as Yu did… it was much more intricate, though.

“ _Don’t interfere…”_ Kunino Sagiri said, his booming, raspy voice echoing despite the area being entirely open to the night sky.

Rise, already having called her Persona, notified everyone,

“He’s really strong… I think we’re gonna have to fight him if we want Senpai back!”

“Whaaat?” Chie gasped, “That’s- that’s not fair!”

“Yeah,” Kanji joined in, brandishing his weaponized folding chair, “just give us our leader back, dammit!”

“Pardon me,” Yukiko stepped forward in a bold manner, looking directly at Yu’s Shadow, “but, would you help us in defeating this… Kunino Sagiri?”

“Whoa, Yukiko,” Chie’s jaw dropped. 

...Surprisingly, the Shadow Yu only looked back and forth between different members of the Investigation Team. 

“I’m fighting. Do whatever you want. It’s not my fault if you get hurt.”

— — —

This was turning out to be a terrible idea.

Kunino Sagiri was much stronger than any of them had anticipated, despite Rise’s warning; landing blow after blow using both himself and Yu, assisted by Yu’s library of Personas.

“This is no good,” Rise called out, her voice fuzzy due to using her Persona’s communication rather than her own voice, “Naoto-kun,” she called as Naoto readied a spell, ”darkness won’t work! Use something else!”

“Understood,” Naoto cocked her gun, “Perso- ngh..!”

“Woah, hey-!” Yosuke gasped, hit by a burst of bufu magic.

“Yukiko!” Chie called to her friend, who was lying still on the ground.

“Ugh… I can’t go on…” Yukiko groaned.

“Yosuke!,” Teddie called from where he stood behind Rise, “lemme at ‘em!”

Before Yosuke had a chance to answer, he was interrupted by a slight tapping on his shoulder.

“Step aside,” Shadow Yu ordered.

“Where have _you_ been?” Yosuke asked the Shadow, who hadn’t been too keen on showing himself during the fight.

Rise announced once again, “He’s become weak to ice! Chie-senpai, Naoto-kun, Teddie, take him on!”

Yosuke nodded to Shadow Yu beside him, stepping back. 

The Shadow summoned an impish-looking persona, Loki, before aggressively calling out among the other three team members,

“Bufudyne..!”

“Not so fast,” the real Yu announced bluntly, summoning the same Loki to take the attack. Or, rather, absorb it.

“Wha?!” Chie stepped back, “That’s not fair!”

“Hold on, everyone,” Rise called out, “he’s still weak to ice. If we can find an opening somehow, then…”

She thought for a moment, observing the battle as realization slowly dawned across her face, “Kunino Sagiri doesn’t seem to be active while Yu-senpai is moving. I think you can look for an opening there..!”

“How’re we supposed to do that..?” Chie turned to ask Rise, “if we attack Kunino Sagiri, Yu-kun will jump in to defend him!”

Teddie spoke up, “Could we try distracting Sensei?”

“That…” Naoto looked to Teddie, “might not be such a bad idea. But, he doesn’t respond to us. How would we distract him?”

Yosuke’s hands tightened around his kunai. He was sure he could… he probably shouldn’t, though. But, he had an idea… or a vague concept of one, anyways.

“Make up your mind,” Yu’s Shadow turned to Yosuke. 

“W-w-waaaah!!” Teddie jumped, holding his slip-on claws in a defensive position, “When did you get here..?”

Ignoring him, Yu’s Shadow continued, “times like this are why I can’t _stand_ being in the same room as you sometimes. You want to help, right? Go.”

This guy was sending all kinds of mixed signals… Did he want to be helped? Did he finally accept that his true self _needs_ help? Is he only accepting Yosuke’s assistance because he wants to beat up his other self immediately afterward??

“Sometimes, huh?” Yosuke disregarded his own questions and winked, taking down his headphones as he looked to Shadow Yu, “So there are times when you like hanging out with me?”

“Keep talking and I’ll kill your leader here and now. I’m only waiting because I want a fair fight, but I’ll drop that if it means I can get you to _shut up.”_

Nodding, a smirk on his face despite the obvious threat, Yosuke dropped his kunai during his mad dash to his Partner.

“Wait, Yosuke-senpai..!” Naoto called out, taking a step forward, “What are you planning?”

Chie added, “That’s dangerous..!”

If Yosuke heard them, he didn’t show it.

“Yu!!” He reached out, taking hold of Yu’s jacket collar with one hand. Yu took a moment, then finally set a hand on Yosuke’s wrist, attempting to tear it off.

“You won’t...” Yu blinked, staring at Yosuke with emotionless eyes.

“Bet, motherfucker.”

Yosuke drew his hand back to summon Susano-o. Was this really about to happen..?

“If you won’t listen to me,” he nearly yelled, as if it Yu would hear it better somehow, “I’ll just have to get through to you some other way..!”

He heard the faint sounds of Bufudyne being cast on Kunino Sagiri behind him as Yu nimbly dodged.

His Partner seemed to space out for a moment, which Yosuke suspected was Kunino Sagiri’s doing.

That didn’t mean he would hold back.

“Wake up…” Yosuke called, stepping forward, “fight back, dammit!” 

Yu un-froze in time to land a swift blow to Yosuke’s upper jaw, merciless enough to nearly knock Yosuke’s glasses off. Even mind controlled, Yu’s punches were no joke…

“You’ve done it now, Partner,” Yosuke staggered a bit, glaring at Yu as he regained his footing, “you’re gonna pay, dammit..!”

“...Izanagi,” Yu’s hand slowly lifted to the sky.

“Susano-o!” Yosuke reached up, soon realizing that he, in fact, did not have his kunai with him to break the card.

..!

Yosuke watched as Susano-o’s card floated down… and down… and…

_WHAM_

Punching _through_ his Persona’s card, Yosuke managed to hit Yu _square_ _in the face,_ knocking his Partner back a few inches as Yosuke watched Izanagi’s card fizzle out.

Sparing no time, Yosuke darted forward as he ordered Susano-o to cast a Garudyne spell, knocking Yu onto the ground. Yosuke caught up and planted a knee on Yu’s chest, pinning his left shoulder down with a hand.

Yu tried to push Yosuke’s hand off. Yosuke held firm, catching his breath. Yu began to reach up with his free right arm.

“Don’t,” Yosuke panted, “don’t try it, you brainwashing bastard..!”

Yu blinked, then proceeded to call out,

“Kohryu.”

“I warned you,” Yosuke drew his left hand back, clenching his fist, “dumbass!”

Yosuke managed to leave a pretty nasty red mark across the side of Yu’s face. Yu stared for a moment, his gaze returning upward as he attempted to call another Persona down. 

“Stop it,” Yosuke’s voice shook, rage quickly welling up inside of him, coursing through his whole body, “snap out of it..! Yu!!” he shrieked, desperate for his Partner to hear him.

Nevertheless, Yu’s cards kept tumbling out of the sky, halted on occasion by the exchange of blows between the two. (Please don’t take that out of context. I know how you people are.)

Watching Yu like this… it _hurt._ It wasn’t Yu. Yu wasn’t the one fighting, but...

Yosuke cringed with every hit he landed. He hadn’t thrown around punches like this since that day at the Samegawa. Fighting with shadows didn’t even come close…

“Yu- no, you’re… Kunino Sagiri,” Yosuke choked out, his vision wet and blurry, “please, I don’t want to fight him like this...”

It’s terrifying, coming to blows against your closest friend. It’s just dreadful finding yourself against that friend, with his empty eyes staring back at you, watching his dazed expression as he’s unable to hear a single word you say to him.

Yu halted for a moment, setting his arm down as he began to breathe heavily. Yosuke let his knee up a bit, turning to watch the fight with Kunino Sagiri behind him. Sagiri was becoming limp, exhausted from keeping up his attacks on the Investigation Team while he controlled Yu at the same time.

“Keep it up, everyone!” Rise called, “His weakness is electric attacks. Kanji, Shadow-kun, get in there!”

“...Izanagi,” the real Yu called.

“Hey, dammit,” Yosuke whipped his head around, “stop that!”

He lifted his hand again as his glasses fell, crashing onto Yu’s forehead before falling onto the ground. Apparently, it was enough to startle Yu, Yosuke noticed, as his Persona’s card fizzled out soon after.

“...Izan-”

“I’m getting real tired of that name, dammit,” Yosuke grabbed the glasses a few inches off, “shut up!!”

Yosuke, hoping to catch Yu off guard again somehow, shoved his glasses onto Yu’s face.

Yu blinked, closely resembling that of an infant who’s just had a slice of cheese thrown onto its face. Yosuke sighed, wondering how the hell that worked.

“Why don’t you summon that Kohryu of yours or something,” Yosuke teased, “Izanagi’s getting old.”

“...” Yu stared straight up,

“Uh, hello? Yu?”

“...”

“Kunino Sagiri?”

“Um,” Yu blinked, his gaze shifting to Yosuke, “I’m... sorry about that.”

“Holy _shit,_ ” Yosuke nearly jumped, calming himself down as he studied Yu’s expression. His eyes were clear again… his mouth curled into an almost sheepish smirk.

“Yu?!” He yelled, nearly falling over in an effort to get off of him as soon as possible.

“Well,” Yu sat up, his eyes cast down as he settled onto his knees, “kind of.”

“Kind of?” Yosuke examined Yu’s expression, making sure he was _totally_ himself, “Are you okay? You’re Yu, right? Not Kunino Sagiri?”

Yu looked up, locking eyes with Yosuke, “I… I’m fine. You…”

“Don’t worry about me, man. What happened?! One minute you’re practically braindead, and now you’re just… back to normal?”

Yu shook his head, taking the glasses he wore off and holding them up for Yosuke to see.

“My glasses..?” Yosuke asked.

Yu nodded, putting them back on after Yosuke insisted, “I couldn’t understand anything while I was under his control, but… it’s like, when my vision cleared, my mind did too… uh…” he shrugged, looking down.

“That’s all I wanted to know,” Yosuke nodded, “don’t worry about explaining anything right now, Partner.”

“Yosuke,” Yu sighed, his gaze not leaving the floor.

“Look, everything’s fine now,” Yosuke did his best to reassure his Partner, “the rest of the Investigation Team is taking care of Kunino Sagiri right now.”

“That’s not…” Yu looked back up hurriedly, his eyes wide, “I still can’t- ngh…”

Yu fell silent as he reached up, clutching his head with one hand while his other reached out to catch a Persona card.

“Wha- Yu?”

“Aughhh… Iza… nagi..!”

Yosuke caught a brief glimpse at Yu as he brought his hands to the ground after breaking Izanagi’s card,

“What the hell are you- gh!”

Yosuke fell back, electricity crackling through his spine as Yu, reluctantly so, cast a Ziodyne.

“Yu?” Yosuke gasped, trying desperately to catch his breath as Yu shakily stood up and inches toward him.

“I can’t move on my own… I can still hear his voice, his commands…”

“H-hey,” Yosuke glanced towards Kunino Sagiri, who seemed to have gained a bit of his strength back as Yosuke’s friends struggled again at him.

“Yu,” he looked back to his Partner, staring deep into his clear eyes, “you have to resist him. Come on..! Snap out of it!”

“I can’t,” Yu muttered, reaching out once again towards his Persona, “Yosuke, I can’t..!” his voice strained.

“Dammit,” Yosuke sat up, reaching out along with Yu, “come, Susa- augh!!”

Another Zio attack hit, rendering Yosuke dizzy and motionless on the ground. The fog was thick… he was struggling to make sense of anything around him.

“Part.. ner…” Yosuke choked out, his voice raspy.

He closed his eyes against the thick fog, listening as Yu’s hesitant footsteps grew closer and closer.

He thought to himself, _Am I really going to just lie here? If I somehow don’t die, I’ll be totally useless… and Yu will end up blaming himself for everything. I… I can’t let that happen..._

Yosuke felt his hand twitch. Yu could still hear Kunino Sagiri, right? Then…

“I can’t…” Yu stopped, suddenly. Yosuke looked up at Yu, supporting himself on his hands. Yu began to tremble, crashing to his knees and grasping his head while he muttered something,

“...not going to hurt my friends… I… I won’t…”

“Yu...” Yosuke winced, pain shooting through his limbs as he stood, “just hold on, I’m coming..!”

Yu looked up, and Yosuke could swear he saw tears forming in the corners of his eyes when he called, voice strained,

“Yosuke..!” Yu covered his ears.

Yosuke’s vision cleared as he neared his Partner, grasping at the headphones around his neck.

“Yu!!” Yosuke shouted, settling on his knees to look his Partner in the eye as he gently slipped the headphones over Yu’s ears,

“Look at me,” Yosuke commanded, taking out his music player, “just focus. Alright?” he started up the first song that popped up, turning the volume up so loud he could follow along with the song in Yu’s ears.

“He’s still there…” Yu whispered, sliding the headphones down, “Kunino Sagiri, he’s still in the back of my mind…” his hands shook in his lap.

“He can’t get to you. Not while I’m here,” Yosuke set the headphones back, carefully, setting his hands on top of Yu’s shoulders while he stared directly into Yu’s eyes.

_I’m here, I’m okay, you’re okay,_ Yosuke repeated in his head, hoping Yu could use that intuition of his to decipher his words.

Yu nodded, returning Yosuke’s gaze for just a moment before he closed his eyes, concentrating.

Yosuke took the opportunity to observe his friends…

Kunino Sagiri was struggling… _bad._ He was near to the ground, making a motion as if gasping for air. Did supernaturals need air? No matter…

The Investigation Team was back on their feet, Rise calling for various members to attack a specific weakness while Yukiko, who had recovered via Healing Bead, and Teddie took turns, with one casting healing spells while the other focused on attacking. Kanji and Chie, of course, took the front lines, while Naoto took care of spells from behind them.

...Yu’s Shadow wasn’t around, though.

Yosuke turned back to Yu, holding tight to his Partner as if he’d crumble when Yosuke let go.

He wouldn’t be leaving Yu’s side any time soon.

— — —

“Don’t give up! We almost have him..!” Rise called out. Her cheers were rather unneeded, considering the ecstatic state of the Investigation Team at the moment.

“Kanji-kun,” Naoto yelled, “calm down!! We’re in the middle of a battle!”

Kanji, ignoring her words, continued to hack and slash at Kunino Sagiri with his signature folding chair, “Go to hell, you criminal bastard!”

“Geez,” Chie commented, taking a break from attacking to recover, “you’re in no place to be calling people criminals, Kanj- whoa-a-a!”

Chie marveled as Kanji flew past her, landing all the way at the bottom of the stairs with a loud thud.

...he got up, after a minute, so he was probably fine.

“Chie,” Yukiko called, “watch out!”

“Agh!!” Chie shielded herself with her right leg, avoiding any major damage from Kunino Sagiri’s Agi skill.

“Thanks, Yukiko!” Chie waved to Yukiko, who was stationed next to Rise in the middle of the staircase.

“Good eye, Yuki-chan!” Teddie praised, “Hey, hey, to celebrate your stunning, heroic deed, why don’t you and me get out of here? Y’know… together?”

“Shove it, before I burn off that cute little rose you have pinned to your shirt.”

“Eep!” Teddie ran behind Rise, cowering, “Rizzy-chan, Yuki-chan is being mean to me-e-e!”

“Be quiet, Teddie,” Rise pat his head, “I’m trying to concentrate. If the pattern holds up…”

Rise studied Kunino Sagiri for a moment before continuing,

“His weakness is fire! Yukiko-senpai, Naoto-kun, it’s all yours. Everyone else, keep up the support skills. Give it everything you’ve got!”

“Hey,” Chie looked around, falling back as her spot on the front line was taken by Yukiko, “where’s Yu’s Shadow gone off to? He was just helping us earlier.”

“I’m not sure,” Rise responded, “I hope he isn’t causing trouble for Senpai…”

“You should trust him more, Rise-chan,” Kanji came up to stand next to Rise, hiding a satisfied smile, “I mean, that’s what Senpai’s Shadow is all about, isn’t it? If the guy wants to prove that he can fend for himself, we should let him, dammit.”

“Aww,” Chie giggled, “that’s kinda sweet of you, Kanji-kun.”

“Sh-shut up!!” Kanji blushed, turning to watch Kunino Sagiri. He was definitely on his last legs…

“Everyone!” Rise called out, “We can finish this! Let’s go… All-out attack!!”

— — —

Yu wanted to wake up. He wanted to open his eyes, take down Yosuke’s headphones, and tell him that Kunino Sagiri’s voice was gone. His mind was cleared, and he could fight with everyone again.

But, he couldn’t. Why?

Any sense of relief Yu could have felt at that moment was replaced with a strange sense of distress.

Something was very wrong.

Yu began to feel sick, and a little dizzy. He couldn’t really _do_ anything, but he had a feeling his body was moving anyways.

The area around him was illuminated with the warm, yellow glow of a TV directly across from him. He stood, feeling his hands shake as he stared at the image of a woman across from him.

“Mayumi...” He said, his voice almost foreign to himself. A strange sense of urgency overtook his senses, blocking out his thoughts.

Before Yu knew it, he was hunched over the television, having kicked over and almost tripped on numerous beer cans and stray newspapers on his way there.

“Mayumi? Mayumi!” Yu called.

_Who’s Mayumi?_ He wondered.

Yu’s racing heartbeat sounded in his own ears as he reached his hand towards the screen, noticing the white dress shirt sleeve around his arm. Was he wearing that before?

Nevertheless, his hand grew closer, and closer...

“It went in…” he gasped, silently questioning why he was surprised, “it’s just like a pool of water.”

Yu stumbled back, dread filling his very soul as the woman on screen disappeared.

“Mayumi… come back..!” He cried out, his vision fading.

_Maybe this time I’ll wake up, back home…_ Yu thought. His hopes were soon dashed, however, upon regaining his sight at… was that the gazebo next to the Samegawa?

“Wha...” a young girl in front of him spoke, “What are you, some kind of creep? I’m not dealing with this…”

Yu’s stomach sank, though, this time he knew why. That… was Saki, wasn’t it?

The girl- Saki- walked off, eager to get away from Yu, it seemed.

Yu’s surroundings became dark and clouded once again as he began chasing after her.

His vision clearing, Yu heard a news program. He felt totally… sunken. Destroyed. Something he’d loved dearly just had left him for good…

It was the same way he’d felt when Nanako’s heart monitor flatlined a year ago. When he joined his friends in throwing an innocent man into the television.

A social link that hadn’t just reversed, but had halted entirely, forever, leaving an abysmal sense of emptiness and regret.

Trembling, Yu circled the table in front of him in order to turn the TV off. It was then that he sat down in front of the screen, staring intensely at his… reflection...

Except, well, it wasn’t _his_.

His expression unchanged, Yu stared back at Namatame’s face reflected in the television screen.

That… made a bit more sense about the scenes he was experiencing, but why..? He already knew that Namatame wasn’t the killer. He just had to prove it to everyone in a few weeks…

Yu’s mind blanked as a bright light shone from the television, and Saki appeared onscreen.

Yu felt his- er- Namatame’s body jump back as he reached for his cell phone, his eyes refusing to leave the gruesome scene on the TV.

He didn’t want to watch… Saki was in pain. She was _writhing_ in pain. Her limbs twisted in ways they never should’ve been able to, and, ugh...

This could have happened to Yu’s friends. This is what Yu had sentenced Namatame to, a year ago.

Yu wanted to shake the thought from his head. Though, he seemed to be seeing another man’s memories… or something… right now, so that was not an option.

“Come on…” he said, a phone’s loud ring blaring in his ear, “pick up!”

_Riiiiiing…_

_Riiiiiing…_

_…_

“I warned her…” he nearly toppled over, his legs quaking underneath him, “Come on! Please!!”

Yu heard nothing but the dull noise of the cell phone, his heart beating madly. His vision darkened with every heartbeat, it seemed, followed by his sense of touch, hearing…

Everything faded into a cold, dark abyss, and Yu was thankful to get out of Namatame’s head. He hoped he would just be able to go home this time.

— — —

“Yu? Yu-u-u!”

That was Yosuke’s voice… Yu would recognize it anywhere.

Meaning…

Yu sat up, however drowsily, from where he’d been laid down. He turned, settling his eyes on his Partner, who, he discovered, was the only one around. Yosuke still didn’t have his own glasses on… or his signature headphones, for that matter. Yu assumed that he was the one still wearing Yosuke’s stuff.

Yosuke was the first to speak up,

“Sleep well?” he asked, winking.

Yu nodded, silently handing off the headphones to Yosuke. He offered the glasses as well, but Yosuke declined taking them back.

Looking around, Yu began taking in his surroundings. They were definitely still on the top floor of Heaven, so where...

“Wondering where everyone is?” Yosuke asked. Yu turned back to face him as Yosuke continued, “It’s just us up here. Namatame was totally out cold after the fight, so Kanji-kun and Chie took Namatame outside. Oh, and Naoto-kun went with them, too. Then Rise-chan, Yukiko-san, and Teddie went down a few floors, so Rise could scan the area to make sure everyone got out okay.”

Yu looked down. Namatame…

He knew for sure now. He knew how to prove to everyone that Namatame wasn’t the killer.

Well, he had an idea of how to prove it, anyways.

“Are you feeling alright?”

Yu nodded, again.

“Um,” Yosuke continued, his expression puzzled, “what… happened? To you, I mean. Like, we were both over here, and you were fighting off Kunino Sagiri, but then you just... collapse out of nowhere. What was that?”

Yu looked down in thought. He did remember the Kunino Sagiri ordeal, but nothing happened that could have hurt him.

Though, Kunino Sagiri, Namatame’s overtaker, was the one controlling him, right? So maybe, if the mind control thing wore off…

Was that why he was able to see into Namatame’s memories?

“I think…” Yu responded, after a minute or two, “if Kunino Sagiri was defeated around the same time, then…”

“Then, whatever he used to control you wore off, right? That makes sense,” Yosuke replied, sharp as ever.

Yu confirmed, “Yeah. But, well…” he struggled, attempting to put what he saw, or felt, or experienced earlier into words,

“I think I was supposed to see something. That’s why it happened.”

“See something? What, did you have some kind of dream?” Yosuke asked, obviously very confused. Yu couldn’t blame him.

“Yeah. Or, no. I don’t know what it was,” Yu fumbled with his words a bit, 

“I saw Namatame’s memories. I don’t know how, or if it was a dream, or anything, but, whatever it was, it was real.”

“Whoa,” Yosuke looked taken aback, taking a moment to think of how to respond, “That’s… insane. What were his memories like? Did you see him throwing everyone into the TV?”

“Well,” Yu started, eager to get Yosuke on board with the whole ‘Namatame isn’t a murderer’ thing, “the opposite. He was trying to save that announcer, and…”

Yu took a moment before going on, debating whether to tell Yosuke about Saki,

“He tried to warn Saki-senpai too. He even tried calling her while she was being shown on the Midnight Channel, but…”

“...”

“You don’t believe me?”

“No, it’s not that…” Yosuke averted his eyes from his Partner, “I mean, I want to but…”

Both Yu and Yosuke turned at a sudden commotion from the floor entrance,

Yu heard Rise call out, “Wha- Teddie, don’t..!”

“SEEEENNNNSSEEEIIIIIIII!!!”

Before Yu or Yosuke could figure out what was going on, Yu was knocked all the way to the ground by a blurry, blonde force.

Yosuke, recognizing this attacker, yelled out, “Teddie!? What the hell? Get off of him!”

“S-s-s-” Teddie sniffled, burying his tear-ridden face into Yu’s jacket, “Sensei, you’re… you’re ali-I-I-ive!!”

Yu sighed, accepting his fate on the floor as he gave Teddie a single pat on the head, “Nice to see you too, Teddie.”

“Yo, Senpai!” Kanji called out, “You feelin’ any better?”

Yu gave a silent thumbs-up.

“Hey,” Yosuke turned to the group making their way toward the pair, (and Teddie,) “you all came back?”

“Of course!” Chie replied, coming forward to stand beside Yosuke, “Rise-chan told us that you two never left the floor, so we all came up to see if Yu-kun had woken up yet.”

“Yeah,” Yukiko added, smiling, “but it looks like you had everything under control.”

“Well,” Chie chuckled, looking towards Teddie, who still had Yu stuck on the ground, “until now.”

Yosuke looked back toward Yu and Teddie, “How long are you gonna stay like that, bear?”

“It’s just-” Teddie sniffled, his voice muffled, “it’s been so long since we’ve seen the real, live Sensei..!”

“It’s been,” Yosuke grabbed Teddie by the back of his shirt collar, “three days!” he pulled him up and off of Yu.

Yu sat back up,

“Thank you, Yosuke.”

“Oh, yeah, sure. No problem.”

“I owe you my life.”

“Er- it wasn’t that big a deal.”

Yu smiled. Looking back up, his gaze shifted from person to person. Everyone was there, it seemed.

“Senpai,” Naoto stepped forward, addressing Yu and Yosuke both, “Namatame is still unconscious. He was just admitted to the Inaba Municipal Hospital.”

Yosuke nodded, “Thanks, Naoto-kun.”

“That scumbag,” Kanji spoke up, “at least Dojima-san is at the same place. He’ll keep an eye on him for sure.”

Yu looked up at Kanji. So Dojima got himself hospitalized this time, too…

“Kanji-kun…” Rise looked to Yu, then shot a pitiful look at her classmate, “Senpai still doesn’t know about..!”

“Oh,” Kanji looked down, “sorry ‘bout that, Senpai.”

“Look, Yu,” Yosuke called Yu’s attention, “Nanako-chan and your uncle are in the hospital right now. They both got pretty messed up, but they’ll be fine.”

Naoto added, “Nanako-chan is still very weak, at the moment. The doctors can’t pinpoint what’s wrong with her…”

Yu looked down. He wouldn’t let last year happen again… he’d prove to all of them that Namatame wasn’t the true killer before they reached _anything_ close to throwing him into the TV.

“Oh,” Rise chimed in, “but, they’re doing everything they can to help her..! And, Dojima-san is sure to get over his injuries. He’ll be back on his feet in no time!”

“Thank you,” Yu smiled, looking to the group as a whole, “all of you. I’m sorry I wasn’t there while… all of that was going on.”

Before anyone could respond, a familiar voice spoke up from the bottom of the staircase,

“Well, now that we’re all here and caught up…”

“You!” Teddie jumped up, seemingly ready to claw this Shadow’s face off.

“Stop it, Teddie!” Rise begged, “Did you forget about how he's been helping us this whole time?”

“Everyone,” Shadow Yu called, making his way up the golden stairs, and toward Yu, “calm down,” he said plainly.

The Investigation Team watched the Shadow’s ascent in silence, backing away from Yu a bit. Yu stood up to meet him.

“Now,” the Shadow turned to address the group, “we are all gathered here today… to witness _me, flawlessly_ accepting my Shadow without _any_ negative repercussions. Unlike _some people_. Ahem…”

Teddie whispered, “Psst… hey, Yosuke!”

Yosuke turned to him.

Teddie continued, “do Shadows… usually know that they’re Shadows?”

“I dunno,” Yosuke responded, in a hushed tone, “I mean, Yu’s pretty unusual himself. Why shouldn’t his Shadow be?”

Satisfied, Teddie turned back to the scene in front of them, followed by Yosuke.

The Shadow called out once again, “Do I hear any objections? ...No? No one will be horribly and unbearably jealous of my unwavering self-control? Well then…”

...why did he have to insult _everyone_?

The Shadow and Yu turned to face each other, eye-to-eye.

The Shadow nodded. Yu spoke,

“I understand. I guess… I felt I was stronger, more experienced than my friends. I wanted them to recognize that… however selfish it may have been,” Yu looked down for a moment, soon returning his Shadow’s gaze and reaching out his hand, “Sure enough, I’m you,” he smiled, “and you’re me.”

Yu’s Shadow smiled and took his hand, dissolving into blue shards only a moment later. Yu stared at the empty space for a few seconds…

Yu spoke evenly, not moving an inch from where he stood while the rest of the Team stared in silence,

“...Yosuke.”

“Right,” Yosuke was already on his way over to his Partner, “gotcha..!”

He caught Yu, who had stumbled and nearly fallen backwards, offering him his shoulder to lean on. Yu accepted.

“Senpai…” Rise sniffled. Teddie joined her with a, “Sensei..!”

“Alright, alright,” Chie came in, wearing her brightest smile, “no more crying! You’re bumming me out.”

Yukiko replied to her, “You do seem awfully happy right now, Chie.”

“Well yeah, I mean, everything’s okay now! We found the killer, and Yu-kun is alright…” her voice grew meek towards the end, there.

Yu looked down at Chie’s mention of ‘the killer’... he’d have to tell them everything later. 

“...We should get you home, Partner,” Yosuke looked to Yu, ”You’re looking pretty rough.”

“Don’t look down on me, Hanamura,” Yu replied, deadpan, not missing a beat.

Yosuke winked, “I’ll consider it when you can stand on your own.”

“And,” Rise added, rather pitifully, “when you start _talking_ to us if you have a problem with us.”

“With you..?” Yu looked up at Rise, alarmed, “I didn’t mean it so personally…”

“ _And_ when you stop breaking our rules,” Yukiko stated, much more aggressive than Rise had been.

“Yeah!” Chie agreed, “Just because _you_ made the rule that we can’t go in by ourselves doesn’t mean that _you_ can go and break it whenever you want!!” she stomped her foot.

“She does have a point, Senpai,” Naoto stated, “it was simply irresponsible for a leader, such as yourself, to do such a reckless thing.”

Kanji nodded, “We’re lucky enough to have you as our leader, Senpai. I don’t want anything goin’ around to change that.”

“It was a beary mean thing, Sensei,” Teddie spoke up, “leaving us all alone like that! We wouldn’t have known what to do if it wasn’t for Shadow-kun!”

Yu stared, taking a moment to make sure he’d heard Teddie correctly,

“...Shadow-kun?”

“ _Snrk-_ we-” Yukiko explained, in between her sudden burst of laughter, “we didn’t know how to- how to address him, so, Yosuke..! Hehehe… hahahaha!!”

Chie sighed, seemingly defeated a long time ago, “I can’t stop her…”

“You…” Yu turned to Yosuke, baffled, “ _named_ the Shadow?”

“Heh,” Yosuke turned, hiding his smirk, “it's not like I knew it would stick.”

Yu, still bothered by something, asked the group,

“Did he... stick around? The Shadow, I mean.”

“Oh,” Chie replied, “yeah, he did. Except, when he came out with Nanako, his eyes weren’t all yellow and glowy like they are in the TV!”

“We thought he really was you at first, Yu-kun,” Yukiko added.

“Don’t worry, Senpai,” Naoto came in, “we caught on quickly. Yosuke was the one who truly discovered that it wasn’t you… or rather, all of yourself.”

“Man,” Kanji said, “you missed a lot more than I thought, Senpai.”

Yu nodded, feeling himself sinking further into Yosuke’s grip. 

“Hey,” Yosuke called out, shooting a concerned look to Yu, “we should get going.”

With agreement from the rest of the Team, Yosuke pulled out a Goho-M from his pocket, lifting it high.

“Everyone ready?” He asked, “Then… let’s go home.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Quick mid January update- I probably won’t be finishing this fic (I’ve already started a new one and I am currently busy being obsessive ab it) so I’ll go ahead and tell you what I had planned.
> 
> Essentially, it was just going to be a short chapter wrapping up Namatame’s case and all that. The IT would discuss what they’d heard from him in the hospital previously and maybe some arguments about Nanako’s kidnapping annnnnnd uh that’s really all I’d thought about I guess
> 
> Thank you for reading!!


End file.
